Americans’ wallets have taken a hard hit over the last few years, and now lingering inflation and high interest rates are pushing some families to the brink.
Shoplifting increased 24% in the first six months of 2024, according to the Council on Criminal Justice’s midyear report. Following this report, LendingTree conducted its own survey on retail theft. Its findings revealed more than 20% of respondents admitted to shoplifting within the past year. Nearly 90% of those who confessed to shoplifting said inflation and the current state of the economy pushed them to steal. It should go without saying that committing a crime isn’t the way to solve the issue. But that doesn’t negate the fact that inflation has become a real problem for families across the country.
